African Conference on Priority Setting & Partnership Development for the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development Kicks Off in Cairo

Cairo – The African Conference on Priority Setting & Partnership Development for the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development opened Tuesday in Cairo with the participation of Morocco.

Morocco is represented at this event, initiated by the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission through its Sub-Commission for Africa (IOCAFRICA), includes Jamal Eddine El Aloua, Secretary General of the National Commission for Education, Science and Culture, Kenza Khalafi, Partnership Officer at the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection, Karim Hilmi, Research Director at the National Institute of Fisheries Research and Vice-President of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, and Khalid Khaldi, Professor of Higher Education at the Faculty of Sciences – Chouaib Doukkali University in El Jadida.

The Moroccan participation in this regional gathering will be marked by presentations on the Kingdom’s experience with the UN Decade of Ocean, as well as the roadmap for the African continent.

The event will present the results of the pre-conference workshops, the regional gap analysis, and national surveys, showcase endorsed Decade Actions in the region and will be featuring high-level support from UN agencies, governments, regional organizations as well as other stakeholder groups to these regional initiatives.

Discussions will feed into the regional gap analysis that will support the development of the regional Ocean Decade Action Plan to deliver the Science We Need for the Ocean We Want in Africa.

The three-day conference will serve as a platform for the launch of the UN Decade (2021-2030) in Africa.

It will also bring energy to the Decade of African Seas and Oceans (2015-2025) by providing impetus for development of ocean sciences, technology and innovation necessary for the harnessing the Sustainable Blue Economy in Africa as outlined in the African Union’s Agenda 2063 (“The Africa We want”) and the 2050 African Integrated Maritime Strategy (2050 AIM Strategy).

The conference will provide a forum to take stock of status of ocean science and technology in the region, deliberate on how ocean sciences in Africa should be supported or reorganized to deliver the required societal outcomes, and seek interest and commitment of the oceanographic community to deliver on a number of directions of research which are critical for ocean sustainable management.